


Pardons

by cloudnymphs



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:00:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24615676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cloudnymphs/pseuds/cloudnymphs
Summary: Not everyone will forgive him for his past atrocities, but Zamasu learns to take clemency where he can.orShin sets up a date, and Zamasu is forgiven by the last person he expects.
Relationships: Shin/Zamasu, Son Goku/Zamasu (Dragon Ball), Supreme Kai | Shin/Zamasu
Kudos: 25





	Pardons

**Author's Note:**

> : I really hated how the anime handled zamasu vs goku. Because one of the most important things to me at least, was that Goku made it a point to let us know that Zamasu was manipulated. Anyway—here is a continuation of my previous fic series. If you haven’t guessed, I ship Zamasu with Shin and Goku. Kind of want to explore that. this fic also takes from both the anime and manga!

Shin let out a sigh of relief when they returned to familiar soil.

No matter how close he was to Gowasu, bringing Zamasu back to universe 10 perhaps was not the smartest move. Gowasu was still bitter about the situation, and he was not completely onboard with Shin keeping Zamasu alive.

That said—Shin did not miss the negative energy emitting from Zamasu when they returned to Universe 7’s sacred word of the Kai. And that relief Shin felt slowly turned to guilt as he changed a glance toward the elder kai.

“I’m sorry it didn’t go how you wanted it to.” Shin spoke, honestly. “I think we should just give Gowasu time and—”

“No, no—it’s fine.” Zamsau waved off his concern, though there was obvious distress in his voice. “I hurt Gowasu in an unforgivable way. Making amends isn’t as easy as bowing and asking for my sins to be absolved.”

Shin sighed, admitting to silent defeat.

It had been what, a couple of months since Zamasu’s ‘rehabilitation’ process and things were far from easy. He had warmed up to Shin, here on his sacred planet but he was still distant. Kibito nor Old Kai were keen on his presence, yet Shin still managed to make them all get along—somehow. Dinner and tea tended to be the hardest. Those moments were filled with tension; Zamasu and old Kai clashing, Kibito having to catch himself when he was in agreeance with some of Zamasu’s less desirable opinions on mortals.

That day however, there was a stark change in the atmosphere, and it was clear that this path to rehabilitation would be more difficult than Shin thought. 

“Maybe we should go get some tea and rest for a while.” Shin didn’t know how else to break the ice. He felt his heart sink just a bit when Zamasu silently agreed.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Zamasu knew that not everyone would forgive him of his past atrocities, and to an extent, he realized how foolish it was to tag along with Shin to the 10th universe with the intention of making amends with Gowasu.

**Gowasu didn’t even look his direction, and that stung far more than Zamasu wanted to admit. Of all the people Zamasu hurt, his betrayal of Gowasu was perhaps the one he regretted the most. Now he was reaping the consequences, no matter how terrible they were.**

“I hope you’re feeling better.” That was Shin’s soft voice, ringing through his thoughts as he sat on the other end of the small table, his own cup of tea in his hand. “I just think it will take some time.” Shin admitted, his voice smooth enough to send a calming sensation down Zamasu’s spine. “We can try again in a few more months…until then…is there anyone else you’d like to make amends with?”

“Other than you…not really….I only seriously hurt you and Gowasu. You are the only two I care to make amends with—”

“Trunks?”

“Not entirely.”

“Mai.” Zamasu sighed, signifying he was growing slightly annoyed with the conversation.

**Feeling slightly guilty that he may have unintentially silenced Shin, he relaxed his peeved expression and continued.**

“Sorry—Supreme Kai, I simply do not find myself seriously bothered by the mortals and their struggles. Even if I am to blame for such atrocities. Perhaps there is more work to be done on my end. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Shin chuckled. “Small steps, I like to think you’re getting better…how about this…”

Zamasu rose an eyebrow.

“Let’s not think—let’s just do. I’ve considered all the people—the mortals you’ve hurt. You want forgiveness, or at least you’re working toward it? I’ll go to Earth and find one mortal—and no it won’t be Trunks or Mai, just a random mortal you’ve hurt and you can attempt to make amends? How does that sound? No anxiety or preparation for who it might be, just a mortal who may have one way or another been negatively affected by you.”

In all truth it was a terrible idea—Zamasu had no desire to make up with mortals no matter how much Shin believed in him.

Yet without even thinking, he rather distantly muttered an, “….Okay…” and within a moment, Shin was gone.

For nearly fifteen minutes, Zamasu sat there, arms crossed at the table as he waited in curiosity to see just what mortal Shin was going to fish out. He had to admit, he’d killed a lot of mortals in varying timelines—many of them were friends of Shin or had some connection to him. Perhaps he’d bring Bulma, or Vegeta…maybe he would end up bringing Trunks or Mai.

In the midst of his thoughts, Zamasu was caught off guard when Shin returned. With him stood a very tall, raven haired man with an all too familiar grin on his face. Zamasu practically shot up to his feet nearly knocking his chair over, as he quickly recognized who this man was.

Of all the mortals—of all those whom Zamasu had wronged, he did in fact have the most tumultuous relationship with Goku.

He did after all, steal his body and commit heinous atrocities, he warped the world’s perception of Goku (at least in certain timelines) all while using him for his own evil deeds. So of course, Shin who was extremely close to this annoying mortal, would bring him to draw out his little experiment.

“No need to get all nervous!” Goku’s cheeky grin widened. “Supreme Kai brought me here—said you wanted to apologize? I heard he was rehabilitating you or something weird like that? I didn’t believe him when he first told me but, here you are—” Goku, in his jovial manner, already began making strides toward Zamasu.

“Stay away!” 

Both Shin and Goku jumped as Zamasu extended his arm in defense. 

“Ahh—this is what started it isn’t it?” Goku crossed his own arms, standing his ground, his face melting into slight sympathy. “Me not really being able to respect your boundaries—yeah Supreme Kai told me about that.”

Shin rose an eyebrow in surprise at Goku’s slight acknowledgement of his first meeting with Zamasu. It was his boisterous demeanor that had sparked Zamasu’s fall from grace to begin with. Goku refusing to respect his position as a Kai and rather, see him as a sparring match thus humiliating him. Shin thought that perhaps, Goku did not see the situation in that much complexity but he had at least, understood he was in the wrong back then and that is maybe why he agreed to make amends.

Zamasu’s tensed shoulders fell as he eventually nodded in understanding. 

“So this is the mortal you’ve brought me.” He spoke, his violet eyes hovered toward the Supreme Kai perhaps longer than they should have when finally he turned to face Goku. “Then I suppose we should talk.”

“I’ll give you two some time alone.” Shin cast both Goku and Zamasu a heartfelt expression, before excusing himself, much to Zamasu’s dismay.

Both watched as the Supreme Kai vanished out of sight, leaving them together. Almost like an excited dog, Goku made way to the table, sitting down on the end opposite. Zamasu, who had since been standing, exhaled in defeat as he slowly took to sitting across from Goku.

“Guess we should talk—didn’t expect this to be so…awkward.” Goku admitted.

“I don’t know what you or the Supreme Kai expected.” Zamasu scolded.

He pondered for a moment, in his head attempting to map out all the possible avenues of this conversation. Though his walls did appear to break down, he still was on his guard. No matter how much Shin’s rehabilitation tactics had some sort of impact on him, Zamasu still retained a poor opinion on mortals. Especially those like Goku, whom he had previously loathed for harnessing divine energy. Still—he had to do something, this conversation had to produce something of worth. Zamasu still had hope in changing or at least showing Shin and even Gowasu that he had made some sort or progress.

“I suppose we could start by…I could start by apolog—”

“I think I should go first.” Goku admitted, holding up a hand to silence Zamasu. “I guess I touched up on it earlier but—I’m sorry for forcing you to fight that day. That kind of sparked it, didn’t it? This whole feud, your jealousy. If I just listened, and respected you as a Kai then maybe, you wouldn’t have turned out so sour.”

Zamasu crossed his arms. “Shin did talk to you—didn’t he? Did he tell you to say this?”

“Well, he spoke to me about it a bit! He was pretty direct with me though and told me that we were trying to fix you—I mean not fix…well um…” Goku let out a soft laugh. “I’m already messing up, aren’t I?”

For the first time in his millions of years, a mortal actually caused Zamasu’s heart to warm up. Sure Goku was annoying, he had always been to Zamasu. But there was something about him then, something about his casual and innocent demeanor and his sheer honesty toward the situation that made Zamasu’s heart skip a few beats.

“No,” Zamasu kindly responded. “You’re doing just fine.”

He exhaled deeply, understanding that it was perhaps now his turn to speak. “Things haven’t been easy for me and you are right—you were a catalyst to my actions but, it wasn’t just your fault—Goku. My opinion on mortals had been soured far before I met you, you were simply a tool I could use to achieve my desires. Desires that I now realize were wrong.”

“About that.” Goku chimed in. “I also get that…it wasn’t your fault completely either, you know? Goku Black…he was just using you, I think I told you that but I also think you knew that too? Remember?”

Zamasu felt a lump in his throat and reluctantly, he nodded. He did understand as he was no fool now, nor back when he and Black carried out their operation. As much as Zamasu hated to admit it, he was in fact a pawn in Black’s game. Goku had known this, had made it clear to him while also allowing Zamasu a way out—an escape. Back then, Zamasu was too far in to accept Goku’s helping hand, for if he betrayed Black, he more than likely would have killed them both or at least—incapacitated Zamasu to the point of immobility. 

Zamasu never liked to view himself as a victim, or someone so easily manipulated for he was a wise and knowledgeable Kai. Yet how fitting was it that, the one who manipulated him was none other than himself?

“It isn’t all your fault.” Goku’s soft voice cut into his thoughts. “It was a little bit of everyone—I guess.”

“Thank you Goku.” Zamasu responded. “However, I still must be held accountable for all the people I hurt, all the damage and destruction I caused. You are right, I was manipulated but I am still responsible for my actions and as much as we sit here and find reasons to excuse my fall from grace, I still must be held accountable. I won’t hide from what I’ve done.” He exhaled. “Moving forward means acknowledging what I’ve done in the past. So to that end—Goku I am sorry for hurting you, for using your body to terrorize your friends and for any pain that may have affected you after the fact.”

Goku laughed a bit, and then smiled. Arms crossed as he leaned back in the chair, his grin widening.

“Well that was easy wasn’t it—it also felt nice! Hey, we should do this again sometimes, I mean not the whole apology thing—just hang out like this. You’re actually a cool guy!”

Again, his heart began to skip a few beats but he composed himself, a smile on his face. “I wouldn’t be opposed to it.”

“If you two aren’t busy, you could have lunch right now.”

Both Goku and Zamasu jumped at the realization that Shin had joined their meeting seemingly out of nowhere. Zamasu felt that familiar wave of comfort seeing the Supreme Kai standing there with his usual smile. “I could go get you two something to eat.”

“That would be nice—if that’s alright with you, Zamasu!”

“Oh yes—that would be fine!”

Shin vanished and from across the table, Zamasu heard and audible sigh. “Supreme Kai is always going out of his way to make sure people are happy and that we get along. He does a lot of that stuff without expecting anything in return—I mean he put up with me even after I destroyed his home! And he set this up so we could be friends; I’m really glad he’s sticking out for others. He’s a really good person.”

Zamasu felt his heart speed yet again, but for two different reasons. There was Goku’s usual smugness and at the same time, the realization of what he had said about Shin. Because he was right, Shin was a kind Kai—always caring about others happiness and never his own. Zamasu wouldn’t be there if not for him. Shin was the only one to care for him after this…Shin and well now, Goku. They both made him feel certain ways; they caused his heart to warm and move in ways extremely foreign to a Kai. 

“Yes—he is a good person.” Zamasu replied. “I’m very grateful for him.”

Goku chuckled. “Thanks to him, I guess I’ll be seeing a lot more of you…well both of you.”

By this time, Shin had emerged from the distance, a smile on his face as he carried a tray of food toward the table.

“It’s something I’ll be looking forward to.” Zamasu responded, his mind suddenly at ease as he realized he was surrounded by the two people who cared for him the most. Perhaps this rehabilitation was working better than he thought.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed :D. This was fun to write it just took like two weeks. I loved this arc in the manga--the anime imo really ruined it and took out a lot of Shin's development (like in the manga he actually squared off with Zamasu). And i'm like--let Shin develop (and like i'm actually fine how he is in the manga now, his progression imo is very realistic). So anyway, hope you enjoyed. Please leave Kudos and tell me what you think :D


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